Almost Normal, but Not Really
by Clouds of Ice
Summary: Santana Lopez is content with her job at Spotlight Diner, and she guesses Kurt and Rachel are okay too. But when a goofy new girl named Dani is hired, will she find the piece she never knew was missing? Every goofball has their day. Dantana


**Almost Normal, But Not Really**

**Chapter One**

"Santana, could you _please_ help that customer? I'm a little busy here."

Rachel looked at the brunette pleadingly, her arms full of an assortment of foods that some crazy guy had ordered.

Who orders two breakfast combos, chicken tenders, and cheesecake at 2:30AM?

A man with the name of Fillup.

And no, not 'Phillip'.

He made sure to correct Rachel on that when she had first wrote down his name and order.

Her brown eyes flickered nervously between the new guest who had just walked into the diner, and back to the uninterested gaze of her friend who stood behind the counter.

Friend, right?

...Tolerated her?

Same thing.

Just then, their other friend Kurt whipped past and relieved some of the heavy food from Rachel, the small diva sending a look of gratitude his way. "I've got you covered, Rach. Unlike _some _people we know." He added on, sending a pointed look toward Santana.

"I assume you're referring to me, Hummelina. And I fully accept that claim." Santana smirked happily, tapping her fingers against the cool counter top.

Honestly, Santana couldn't stand some of the people who walked into the diner on graveyard shifts.

Last week they had a man who just asked if they knew where Lucky hid his charms.

Santana had snorted at the one, because everyone knows Trix is where it's at.

Either way, that man was clearly on some 'lucky charms' of his own.

"I'm just saying that you could do to help out more, Santana," Kurt scolded over his shoulder as he walked to table three with Rachel. They set down the chicken tenders and backed away slowly with a tight smile.

Who the hell knows what kind of damage a man could induce with a finger of chicken?

He walked briskly back to Santana and continued his rant, quirking an eyebrow without amusement. "I know we're getting that new girl soon, but we can't keep pulling your weight. Gunther's going to fire you soon and we both know you need this job."

The playful smirk slowly fell off of the fiery Latina's face and was replaced with a cold glare instead.

"Kurt," Rachel whispered harshly, giving the man a firm smack on the arm.

Kurt cut his gaze to Rachel before glancing back at Santana, his features softening at the guarded expression on his friend's face.

"Look, I'm sorry, sweetie. I know it's tough right now-"

"Don't act like you know me, Lady Lips. Just because I live with you two now, doesn't mean you get a VIP pass into all things Santana, got it?" Santana spit out before moving out from behind the counter and heading for the diner's door.

She realized in the back of her mind that if her boss were to walk out, she'd get in pretty big trouble, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Besides, she could never take Gunther seriously.

She always associated the man with Ross and Rachel.

Santana inhaled deeply when the cool wind hit her cheeks as she stepped outside, the surrounding street almost completely abandoned except for a few homeless people wandering about.

It was rare to see the city like this, so still yet still so full of promise. Which is why she mainly stayed here at this dead end job, serving lucky charms weirdos.

She might not be a big star right now, but she swore to herself that every day was a new opportunity. And she was damn well going to take it.

The brunette realized that Kurt was trying to help in his own, porcelain way, and she really had grown to love those two nut jobs, but sometimes he really needed to learn to shut up the hell up.

Santana chuckled out loud.

It _was_ Kurt she was talking about, after all.

"What's so funny?" A silky smooth voice commented from beside her, making Santana jump in surprise and fear.

She would never admit that her first thought was _"Holy shit, chicken finger man finally snapped!" _

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to be a fucking _creeper_!" Santana whirled around angrily, less angry with this stranger, and more embarrassed about being scared.

Her dark eyes locked with light hazel, shining brightly even in the night overcast.

It was a woman, just an inch or two shorter than herself. She seemed to be around Santana's age as well, and golden locks flowed down her shoulders in smooth waves. Her body was clad in yoga pants and a plain gray t-shirt, which she somehow managed to pull off quite nicely.

This stranger was actually kind of fucking gorgeous.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." The girl offered apologetically, grinning a goofy smile that the taller girl couldn't help but find charming.

Charming?

Holy bologna, she was becoming worse than Kurt and Rachel combined.

Santana huffed indignantly, straightening out wrinkles that weren't there in her shirt. "I wasn't _scared_, I just...have a disease where I jump randomly at times. And anyways," the brunette deflected, "What the hell are you doing out here at almost three in the morning?"

She really was hoping this girl wasn't as creepy as the rest of their nighttime regulars.

"I'm Dani," The girl's smile grew as she stuck out a hand in front of her. "I actually start my shift here in about...ten minutes." She clarified after she glanced at her cell phone in her hand.

So _this _was the new girl.

Jesus give her strength.

Santana gulped nervously and reached out her own hand in response, shaking it and reveling in the softness of Dani's skin.

She realized they still hadn't disconnected after a few moments and quickly yanked her hand back, moving it down to her side.

"Well, you should probably go get ready for your shift, Creep. I want to get me some sleep, got it?" Santana replied shortly, but lacking the normal spite in her voice. She couldn't find it in her to be mean to this girl, for whatever reason.

Dani simply kept smiling and tilted her head in a fashion that reminded the brunette of a confused puppy dog.

After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke up again.

"Well, I'll _definitely _be looking forward to working with you, Santana." Dani looked her up and down, her goofy smile never faltering once. "See you inside."

"Wait, how the hell do you know my name?" Santana called after her, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Name tags are funny things, aren't they?"

Well damn, Santana had just been out sassed.


End file.
